Join me for the nationwide one-night-only screening of the documentary “Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story” on November 14
In the heart of Wise, Virginia, nestled amidst the Southern Appalachians, access to health care is a challenge, to say the least. To reach this town of 3,000 souls, you'll need to navigate winding mountain roads, and it's a far cry from the nearest interstate or commercial airport. But come late July, thousands undertake a pilgrimage to the Wise County Fairgrounds, seeking medical, vision, and dental care that they simply can't afford closer to home. The care is courtesy of Remote Area Medical and its founder Stan Brock who is the subject of the documentary “Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story.” The nationwide one-night-only screening of the documentary is on November 14, 2023 in 600 theaters across the country.
Trailer:
Stan and Remote Area Medical played a pivotal role in my journey to becoming a whistleblower and testifying before Congress in 2009.
I first learned about Remote Area Medical in 2007 while I was in Tennessee visiting my folks. I was still head of corporate communications for health care giant Cigna at the time. Since the Wise Country Fairground was only a few miles from where I grew up, I borrowed my dad’s ‘98 Oldsmobile and drove those winding mountain roads from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Wise County, Virginia.
The main parking lot was full by the time I got there, so I had to park in a field about half a mile away. When I finally walked through the fairground gates, I witnessed a scene that, as I would later tell Bill Moyers, shook me to my core. People were lined up by the hundreds, waiting patiently in the rain to get the medical and dental care they couldn’t afford anywhere else. And then I noticed that many of the lines led to barns and animal stalls that volunteers had cleaned as best they could and converted into examining rooms.
It hit me immediately that I had to take some responsibility for that scene because the work I was doing was to perpetuate a system that made both health insurance and health care off-limits to those people – and millions of others across the country. And I realized that many of them could have been people I grew up with or people to which I am related. Had my parents not scrimped and saved over many years so I could go to college and get a good job, I could have been one of them. I had forgotten where I came from.
My heart was softening again. Back at my office, I showed some of the pictures I took at RAM to my staff.
A day or so later, I had to go with the CEO from Philly to Connecticut. For the first time, I began to pay closer attention to how we were traveling. We were on a beautifully appointed Gulfstream jet. We were sitting on leather chairs. Our flight attendant, a Cigna employee, served us lunch on gold-rimmed china, and we ate with gold-plated knives and forks.
And then for some reason, I remembered the faces of the people I saw in those long lines in Wise County and the conversations I had with some of them. Many had come to RAM to get care in animal stalls because they didn’t have enough money to cover their deductibles. They had no more skin to put in the game, and no corporate perks to cover their out-of-pocket expenses. Soon after visiting the RAM clinic at the Wise County Fairgrounds, I resigned from my job at Cigna.
The Medicine Man
Stan Brock, the visionary behind RAM, established the organization in 1985 to airlift American doctors and dentists to serve some of the world's most impoverished and remote communities. In a conversation beneath one of the M.A.S.H.-like tents on the fairgrounds, he shared a sobering truth – the dire need for dental care isn't limited to Wise. Regardless of RAM's clinic locations in the U.S., where most expeditions now take place due to the rising numbers of uninsured and underinsured Americans, 60 percent or more come primarily for dental care.
The dire lack of dental care access in the United States is a pressing and growing problem, one that RAM's dedicated volunteers strive to alleviate. However, the demand often outpaces the capacity of these compassionate professionals.
In one of my final conversations with Stan, he recalled a poignant moment from a few years back in Wise County that left him with profound regret. On the final day of the clinic, a couple with two young children arrived late. The father explained that they were delayed because "church ran late.”
With a heavy heart, Brock explained that everything had been packed up, and they had to leave. He confessed his regret that he didn't go the extra mile, saying, "What I should have said is, 'Where do you live, man? We'll do a house call.' But I didn't."
His voice quivered with emotion, and tears welled up in his eyes. Even after bringing healthcare to countless people around the world, he wished he could have done more. "And so you can't see everybody," he concluded. "That's unfortunately the reality."
Through Stan Brock's remarkable story, "Medicine Man" showcases a man who confronts the U.S. healthcare crisis head-on, inspiring a nationwide movement that reshapes perceptions, changes legislation, and amplifies the voices of society's most overlooked. The film is not only a touching tribute to someone who gave everything to help others but also a celebration of the boundless potential of the American people when they unite to support each other. It serves as a poignant reminder of the unifying power of community activism and the profound impact one individual can have on the lives of many.
Stan Brock, the medicine man, was a true saint on earth. I encourage you to see the film and learn more about this remarkable man.
The nationwide one-night-only screening of “Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story” is on November 14, 2023 in 600 theaters across the country. Click here to purchase tickets, check screening locations, and enquire about group ticket sales.